Because the relationship between computer use and achievement is still puzzling, there is a need to prepare and analyze good quality datasets on computer use and achievement. Such a dataset can be derived from TIMSS data. This paper describes how this dataset can be prepared. It also gives an example of how the dataset may be analyzed. The…

This booklet is an instruction manual for those using the FOCUS database, an information source on dropout prevention of the National Dropout Prevention Center. An introduction lists the FOCUS files, which include Program Profiles, Calendar of Events, Resource Materials Library, Organizations, and Consultants and Speakers. Also given is the…

This digest provides information and advice for accessing information from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database, a federally funded information network designed to provide users with ready access to education literature. It describes the database, the best ways to access ERIC, the thesaurus of ERIC descriptors, and the use…

This paper describes the organization, implementation, and outcomes of a joint effort between the Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the Northeast and Islands and the Vermont State Department of Education's Database Project. In 1987, the Laboratory proposed a feasibility study to examine the means and costs of accessing…

This report focuses on the current status of national and state information systems on residential services for persons with developmental disabilities. Ten national databases and 24 state databases are profiled. Each profile presents a summary of the types of information collected and how this information can be accessed. Data elements are…

The Association for the Advancement of Health Education (AAHE) and Academic Programs for Health Science, George Mason University (Virginia), have collaborated in upgrading AAHE's Health Resources Information System. The process involved updating the health resources information on file. This information, which represents addresses and telephone…

This paper demonstrates the importance of effective planning when using database application programs in exceptional education programs, to more efficiently track students' performance, keep vital information, and create desired reports. The described approach, called the ends-to-means model, calls for developing the database by designing the…

This report describes and illustrates the Northwest Regional Laboratory's (NWREL) Database and School Profiling project. Uses and implications for future data assembly and database design activities are explained. Analysis of the database has impacted evaluation and policymaking activities regarding at-risk youth, rural education, early childhood…

This article suggest three broad categories of improvements to 13 data systems on juvenile victimization: (1) systems could expand to include more jurisdictions or other population segments; (2) systems need to create more specific data items; and (3) systems need to be modified to provide continuity and interrelationships among systems. (Contains…

Presents the objective and methodology chosen for the construction of a global emissions source database called EDGAR and the structural design of the database system. The database estimates on a regional and grid basis, 1990 annual emissions of greenhouse gases, and of ozone depleting compounds from all known sources. (LZ)

Examines the potential for the replacement of CFCs for historic uses with substituting technologies. The potential production and emissions of the principal HCFCs and HFCs are calculated for the next 25 years. (LZ)

By examining large, computer-readable databases at the federal, regional, and state level, this report addresses the degree to which data collected by the state education agencies can be used to describe the condition of rural education. The states covered in this report are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.…

The Charleston County School District's efforts to increase the percentage of students meeting high school graduation requirements at the appropriate age and the percentage of students who graduate within 6 years of entry into grade 9 require a well-designed plan for monitoring their success. Evaluation of those efforts depends upon the use of…

The Comparative Database System (CDS) provides a means for coding and using data on U.S. and international postsecondary educational activity and behavior. CDS permits education-data users to obtain accurate and reliable comparative data on postsecondary education questions. This document contains a discussion of the development of CDS, a detailed…

Discusses a variety of ways that teachers at all levels are using databases in their classrooms, how students respond to working with databases, the relationship of databases to inquiry learning, and how databases can be integrated into the curriculum. (RS)